GEM: FOLLOW-UP UNIT
Purpose:
- To make converts of the guests who attend our Church Services and Programs
- To nurture the converts till they are established in faith, conserved and integrated into the body of Christ in the local Church (our Districts).
Method of Operations
- Attend to guests during our program, ensure they fill and submit complete personal data to enhance follow up subsequently. A "Guest" is either a newcomer or a convert who responded to an altar call during a Program. "Programs" include all Services and Outreaches - Combined Services, Retreats, Crusades, Weekly Fellowships, School Outreaches, GEM Sections Outreaches, etc.
- With support from ICT Section, collate, capture and store the guests data in the Central Church ICT Portal (dclmhub. org).
- Send initial follow-up SMS immediately after the program.
- Distribute guest slips to Groups and Districts after capturing for immediately mobilisation of Follow-up Team and Church members for follow up of the guests.
- Place phone calls and visiting the guests within 24 hours.
- Invite and bring them to weekly fellowships.
- Introduce Cell Units in the homes of those who will not come to the Church weekly fellowships presently.
- Invite and bring all the guests to Believers' Forum within 1 week after the first contact.
- At the Forum, introduce to them the follow up programs specially designed for their steadfastness in faith and spiritual growth.
- Start weekly Bible Classes i. e. Converts Classes.
- Prepare them for water baptism.
- Proceed to Discipleship training for them.
- Engage them and lead them out for personal evangelism, as many as are genuinely saved.
- Graduate them and absorb as many as ate saved as members of the Follow-up Team.
Follow Up Strategies.
For Organised Programs
The following are strategies to get Maximum Participation of Invitees and
Pre-Program
- Plan intercessory prayers e. g. to get the invitees attention, keen interest and have bountiful harvests through the program.
- Collaborate with GEM Publicity for effective mobilisation of members and invitees.
- Pre-register invitees, intending guests.
- Keep in touch with the invitees daily through SMS, phone calls or visits till the day of the program. This should include programmed daily SMS from the Group.
- Liaise with the Transport Section (officers) to provide buses assigned to guests only.
- In residential program setting like Retreats, liaise with the accommodation and kitchen sections to make special arrangements for the guest’s accommodation and feeding.
During Program
- Ensure the Groups make adequate transport arrangement for the invitees and monitor the transportation to the venue of the program.
- Register the guests at the point of entry into the venue, or welcome them during the Moderation session, depending on the program setting
- Counsel and collect data of the guests during the welcoming address and during altar calls.
Post Program Strategies
- Collate, capture and store the guest’s data in the Central Church ICT Portal (dclmhub. org).
- Send initial follow-up SMS immediately after the program - appreciation SMS to newcomers and congratulatory SMS to converts.
- Sort the guests slips into Old Districts and handover to the Follow-up Reps of various Old districts who will in turn distribute to Groups an Districts for prompt follow-up.
- Apply the Follow-up operations outlined in Section C above till the guests are genuinely converted, established in the faith, become useful and fruitful in the body of Christ.
- Use WhatsApp and other Social Media to enhance follow-up activities
Non-Program Related Strategic Plan and Activities
- Train the Follow-up Team members for more effectiveness.
- Monitor Districts and Groups attendance to ensure the fruits of follow-up translate to numerical growth of the Churches.
- Make follow-up visits to old members in our Districts (including Location Churches), especially the absentees from fellowships and those facing challenges.
- Commit each member of the Follow-up Team to engage in personal evangelism
- Motivate others (workers and members) to function in the follow-up team, in view of inadequate hands in comparison with the follow-up work demand.
- Provide follow-up supports to all other GEM Sections during their outreach programs.
- Do regular reporting and reviews of the follow-up works for continual improvement. This should include weekly progress reports, monthly plan/performance appraisal and quarterly review of the entire follow-up works and strategies.